ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Medieval wall demolition discovered on King Billy site as developers seek to upend student block consent
Sixth planning application for Longbrook Street development frames major changes to scheme as minor alterations while accompanying documents reveal unauthorised removal of protected 14th century structure near ancient city walls.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Clifton Hill sports centre site - with adjacent green space - and Mary Arches car park set for sale for PBSA
Reversal of policy to prohibit Purpose Built Student Accommodation on city council land proposed to cover expected £9 million outstanding Exeter City Living debt, with £800,000 budget proposed for site disposal costs.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter promotes social mobility 'silver awards' after being ranked 92nd in HEPI index
Higher Education Policy Institute social mobility ranking follows landmark study placing university 103rd in higher education social mobility league table, while South West young people are least likely to attend university in the country.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Exeter has 3,100 vacant and empty second homes, nearly 6% of city's housing stock
ONS also finds South West has 183,000 unoccupied dwellings with another 200,000 in use as second homes in the region, of which more than 4,000 are in Exeter, as statutory homelessness increases and rough sleeping doubles in city.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Planning inspectors uphold decisions to refuse illuminated city centre advertising screens
Appeal dismissals conclude JCDecaux 'multifunction hubs' would materially harm character, appearance and visual amenity and have 'very limited' benefits in Sidwell Street, Paris Street and South Street with High Street hub decision to follow.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Heavitree & Whipton Active Streets trial consultation to restart as taxi bus gate use introduced
More than 4,000 responses submitted in first eleven weeks with 1,650 people attending public exhibitions on scheme intended to reduce motor vehicle through traffic and increase walking and cycling.
BRIEFINGS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
City council holds consultation on full draft of new Exeter Local Plan, set to guide development to 2040
Second major consultation begins as government introduces sweeping national planning system reforms including transfer of powers to Whitehall and changes to scope of local plans and local plan-making processes.
, updated
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
City council seeks comments on draft Householder's Guide to extensions and alterations
Policy covers size and position, materials, boundary relationships, loft conversions, dormers, solar panels and roof terraces, among other residential development design considerations.
, updated
NEWS ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Exeter employment rate second lowest in South West for second year running
Economic inactivity levels related to large student and retiree population remain high, creating recruitment challenges from healthcare to refuse collection, but council celebrates top retirement destination ranking as 'more good news'.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
County council to sell land and buildings worth up to £10 million to raise money and cut costs
Wedding venue Larkbeare House and gardens, County Hall residential development land and Compass House, home of adult mental health service Talkworks, among assets for disposal as part of property rationalisation programme.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Living to be all-but wound up after £4.5 million losses with £10 million owed to council
Council expects resulting resale value of surrendered Clifton Hill development site not to cover company's debts, with remaining losses to be written off, as Liveable Exeter vision thrown into doubt and councillors evade responsibility for failure.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
St Thomas library forced to relocate when lease expires in November
Landlord Exeter Estates Holdings, controlled by Exeter Chiefs CEO and chairman Tony Rowe, sought substantial rent increase after withdrawing planning application to demolish library building and replace it with block of thirteen flats.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Developer appeals Heavitree Road police station & magistrates court student/co-living blocks refusal
Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner and offshore-registered PBSA Heavitree Road S.A.R.L. seek to overturn Exeter City Council decision to reject application for 1035-bed development beside The Gorge.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Exeland House 'co-living' proposals revised to address 'extreme increase in flood risks'
Environment Agency says most new residential development in River Exe floodplain 'will be required to be at first floor or higher' to deal with 'future flood risks exacerbated by climate change'.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
First Exeter 'co-living' rooms advertised to let from £1,045-£1,360 per month plus council tax
£40,800 minimum salary to rent 26.5 square metre room in six storey 133-unit block, promoted as two minutes' walk from university St Luke's campus, requiring tenants among top 20% of Exeter earners – or with wealthy guarantors.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
City council grants Howell Road garage flats permission despite pending PBSA appeal on same site
Developer still aims to build student accommodation block saying flats would be 'backstop' against loss of appeal while St James residents concerned students will occupy development either way.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
New Community Infrastructure Levy charges to be introduced by city council
Charges levied on most new development towards the cost of infrastructure that is needed to mitigate its impact are to change in line with council proposals that discount co-living development to facilitate its delivery.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
New Heavitree & Whipton Active Streets scheme public exhibitions
Devon County Council is holding two further public exhibitions of the Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets scheme from 4.30-6.30pm on 12 September at Whipton Community Hall and at the same time on 14 September at St Mark’s Church Hall.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Public consultation on county council moving traffic offence enforcement powers
Devon County Council is holding a public consultation until 18 September on its plans to adopt moving traffic offence enforcement powers and introduce Automatic Number Place Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets scheme trial begins
The Heavitree and Whipton Active Streets scheme trial has begun. The first six months, to 2 February 2024, are a statutory consultation period during which residents and organisations are invited to comment on the scheme.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
City council invites comments on digital customer service transformation
Exeter City Council is inviting comments until 15 September on a draft digital customer service strategy that aims to make more efficient use of council resources by increasing its reliance on digital technology for service delivery.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
County council determined to axe homelessness prevention funding despite zero support for cuts
Fate of £1.5 million contract sealed before consultation began with district councils and services providers kept in dark and huge prospective financial and human costs, dwarfing claimed savings, ignored.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
£1 million leisure overspend fuels £3.2 million city council deficit
2022-23 budget review confirms £2.2 million annual leisure subsidy to continue with St Sidwell's Point expected to make a loss for at least five years while another £22 million to be spent on Exeter City Living Vaughan Road development.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Council student accommodation policy proposals overlook 50-80% of student-occupied housing stock
Article 4 direction & HMO SPD consultation omits key information, confuses licensing and planning matters, misrepresents NPPF requirements and proposes barely discernible changes in place of needed new Exeter Local Plan policies.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter councillor Yvonne Atkinson found in breach of code of conduct but escapes prosecution
Summary of investigation related to rental property interests involving Devon & Cornwall Police and Crown Prosecution Service withheld by Devon County Council while councillor campaigned for re-election to Exeter City Council.
, updated
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
University comes clean on true Exeter campus student numbers over past two decades
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information Act confirm between 7,500 and 12,000 more students based in city each year than university numbers suggest – until this year – with major implications for council planning policy.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter electoral tectonic plates rumble as political landscape shifts
Labour takes second Conservative seat in Topsham but loses in St Thomas to Liberal Democrats as Green wins in Heavitree, St David's and Newtown & St Leonards place party second in 2023 city council elections.
COMMENT ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Councillor falsely labels community grants cuts story 'misinformation'
Labour's Martin Pearce brands Exeter Observer 'opposition propaganda' at full city council meeting, earning rebuke from Lord Mayor and putting council at risk of code of practice breach during pre-election period.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
2023 Exeter local elections guide
City council elections take place on Thursday 4 May. Our essential guide highlights who's standing where, wards to watch and what the results might be. It also covers the wider context, voter ID and the impact of First Past the Post in Exeter elections.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Devon County Council admits 'serious, material, well-evidenced' governance failures
Deficient SEND and children's services combine with threat of section 114 bankruptcy notice to prompt 'root and branch' review aimed at restoring 'external confidence in the council's democratic legitimacy'.
, updated
NEWS ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Decline in Exeter economic activity levels among largest in country
Census figures also show population increasing at nearly six times rate of job creation over past decade while healthcare, wholesale/retail and teaching make up nearly half of all employment, reflecting low pay and productivity.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Council slashes community grants but splashes cash on paddling pools in contested wards
Exeter grants programme budget reduced from £425,000 to £15,000 leaving hundreds of grassroots groups out in the cold as the impact of borrowing takes its toll and council fails to consult on budget cuts despite auditor recommendation.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Devon County Council charged with 'relentless institutional failings' in SEND children's services provision
Children with special educational needs and disabilities protest alongside parents at County Hall as Ofsted monitoring continues to find serious unresolved issues and key areas that require significant change.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Council development levy changes are insufficiently evidenced and don't meet city infrastructure needs
Exeter City Council and Liveable Exeter partners impose faulty typology driven by policy objectives while ignoring new local plan, evidence base and statutory funding statement and excluding residential and retail charges from review.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Council lottery operator to take cut from local charitable donations
Decision to promote gambling as 'incentivised giving' plays down risks without assessing potential impacts or evidencing claimed benefits, disrupting relationships between community and voluntary sector organisations and supporters.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Futures falsely claims development fund documents disclosed under FOI legislation
Senior council director puts company on collision course with Information Commissioner's Office as significant governance failings emerge after councillors and public kept in dark over Liveable Exeter financing scheme proposals.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Living put council at 'significant financial risk' after £2.2 million loss in first two years
Missing business plan, lack of transparency and conflicts of interest among senior council directors prompt board resignations and governance review at council-owned and funded company.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter lags behind on female pay and employment terms
HESA figures show poor performance compared with Universities UK members and only incremental changes over past five years, mostly since staff began industrial action over pay, pensions and working conditions.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Information Commissioner to investigate university over student accommodation numbers refusal
Compliance failure follows university admission that nearly 39,000 students based at Exeter campuses in 2021-22, suggesting around three quarters of city's private rented housing stock occupied by students.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Reclaim the Night protest against sexual violence and harassment of women and girls in public space
Exeter event takes place after survey finding that 85% felt unsafe or very unsafe when walking alone in city centre at night, with police figures showing violent and sexual offences exceed 35% of all recorded crime in city.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
University says 39,000 students – nearly 30% of city's population – based at Exeter campuses in 2021-22
Freedom of information request reveals 11,500 more students than published FTE figures with major implications for council planning policy but university refuses to disclose numbers in PBSA vs residential housing stock.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Heavitree Road developer gets sixth pitch for student/co-living complex
Eight design iterations, six council meetings, four consultation rounds and two deferrals combine to impede public participation in planning process on key Liveable Exeter site and increase chances of decision being overturned at appeal.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Flood risk threatens to sink Haven Banks redevelopment plans
Proposals for 434 rental units accommodating up to 1,167 people on 1.7 hectare Liveable Exeter site would deliver extreme housing densities that deny amenity to prospective occupants while inflicting significant impacts on existing residents.
COMMENT ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Will council seek investment zone status for Liveable Exeter sites?
Government growth plans combine tax breaks with planning deregulation, putting affordable housing provision and environmental protections at risk with little evidence that promised investment zone benefits would result.
BRIEFINGS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
New Exeter Local Plan outline draft consultation
Our guide to Exeter City Council's consultation as well as the national planning system reform threatening major changes that would require significant revision to the new plan before its submission to the planning inspectorate.
, updated
EXETER OBSERVER COMMUNITY
Exeter Observer granted £5,000 of development support by Co-ops UK
Co-ops UK business development programme funded by The Co-operative Bank to help Exeter Observer develop opportunities to expand its operations and place its independent public interest news publishing on a sustainable footing.
COMMENT ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Exeter Development Fund: rent extraction, unaffordable housing and gentrification, but not net zero
Exeter City Futures' private debt-driven Liveable Exeter property development financing scheme is under fire from councillors who say it is based on insufficiently-evidenced assumptions and won't meet Exeter's housing needs.
COMMENT ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Property development promotion as community planning participation
If the Liveable Exeter property development scheme and its Exeter Development Fund financing vehicle are already intended to 'anchor and underpin' the new Exeter Local Plan, what will public consultation on the plan decide?
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Bus back better? Exeter services expected to remain unfit for purpose without needed changes
Government underfunding and bus sector challenges limit scope for improvement but county council failure to upgrade routes and policy ambitions plus high housing costs make Exeter difficulties acute, undermining net zero aspirations.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter greenhouse gas report disregards hundreds of thousands of tonnes of annual city emissions
Restricted scope of study misrepresents scale of city's impact to produce partial decarbonisation targets while ignoring opportunities to reduce emissions imported by residents, businesses and visitors, guaranteeing net zero failure.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Race in pole position
Exeter Labour looks set to pick Steve Race as the party’s parliamentary candidate at the next general election after retiring incumbent Ben Bradshaw anointed his former assistant as his heir apparent in what has been a fairly safe Labour seat since the 1997 landslide.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Alphington 'enhancements' will not mitigate traffic impact from massive South West Exeter extension
County council manipulates public consultation and allocates just 1% of £55 million grant to pedestrian scheme while spending 75% on new roads and increased road capacity for 3,500 new cars expected on greenfield housing estate.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Council rejects calls for greater community involvement in Exeter planning policy and decisions
Council defends existing approach despite Statement of Community Involvement consultation producing just 17 responses, and won't do more to promote neighbourhood planning despite prospect of enhanced community powers.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
£900,000 to keep Magdalen Road one-way system despite decisive public support for low traffic street
County council misrepresented and omitted key public consultation findings in report and did not publish results until after decision taken in favour of option with only 18% public support. Exeter Observer snapshot survey finds 90%+ motor vehicles passing shops are through traffic.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
How to inflate housing costs and influence people
Despite Exeter’s rapidly worsening housing crisis, the council has continued its relentless promotion of the city as a destination to potential incomers by commissioning a coterie of Instagram influencers to flog the place to their followers after spending a May weekend here.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Tik tok
The county council-convened Devon Climate Emergency Response Group (DCERG) has continued its apparent commitment to avoiding public scrutiny of its decision-making by simultaneously publishing the minutes of six of its meetings (which are held in private without published agendas) at the end of May — despite some being held in March.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Will Exeter College fence off Exwick community playing fields?
Exeter College redevelopment plans at Exwick and Flowerpot Playing Fields threaten a three metre fence around publicly-accessible playing fields and their replacement with artificial turf. Will it change course after widespread objections?
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
2022 Exeter local elections guide
City council elections take place on Thursday 5 May. Our essential guide highlights who's standing where, wards to watch and what the results might look like and mean. We also outline their context and explain when, where and how to vote.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Do Exeter Labour election campaign claims stand up to scrutiny? Part III: Climate & environment
The third in our 2022 local elections series examines Exeter Labour claims about climate crisis leadership, renewable energy, recycling, retrofitting and development standards as well as decisions to scrap council and city decarbonisation goals.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Brownfield or green?
At yesterday’s second scrutiny meeting in the series being orchestrated by the city council to air Exeter City Futures’ ideas about using Exeter as an urban guinea pig for its development fund project it was Frazer Osment’s turn to play the ringer.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Low attendance levels among some councillors mean Exeter electors get varying value for their votes
As part of our 2022 Exeter local elections coverage we have assessed the past year's attendance figures for public council meetings as a measure of councillor commitment to their constituents.
ANALYSIS ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Do Exeter Labour election campaign claims stand up to scrutiny? Part II: Economy & city centre
The second in our 2022 local elections series examines Exeter Labour claims about the city centre and Exeter's wider economy, including its misrepresentation of content marketing materials as authoritative sources of information about the city.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Leaderless by design?
The county council’s plan to delay taking action on decarbonisation, otherwise known as the Devon Carbon Plan, continues to achieve its aim as (bear with us) the county council cabinet responds to its consultation on its response to the Devon Climate Assembly’s responses to the subset of Interim Devon Carbon Plan issues it has successfully avoided confronting.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Why does Exeter City Council evade public scrutiny of Exeter City Living property development decisions?
Significant decisions concerning the council-owned company are being taken in secret despite transparency legislation and assurances when it was created, with governance and scrutiny arrangements also potentially putting the council at risk.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Council consultants confirm 58% of Exeter's university students live in city's residential housing stock
2021-22 university figures suggest there are now more than 4,500 student HMOs in the city, consistent with ONS findings, with number set to surpass Exeter's council housing provision.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
£55 million Guildhall shopping centre decision may breach local government transparency rules
Exeter City Council decision to purchase and redevelop shopping centre may be unlawful, ineffective and subject to judicial review, increasing already significant commercial investment risks.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
We heart climate crisis
Anyone who might have been tempted to believe that the climate crisis is at the heart of everything Exeter City Council does (as it repeatedly claims) need look no further than its response to the consultation on the Devon climate assembly’s output report for clarification.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Decision to send council CEO and director to work for Exeter City Futures is 'disservice to citizens'
City council disregards governance, risk and conflict of interest issues despite cross-party challenges and conflates decarbonisation agenda with property development financing scheme.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Not such an honourable mention
Cranbrook’s appearance in a recent Transport for New Homes report examining new housing developments across England to find out whether they are built around sustainable transport or car dependency does not exactly celebrate the satellite town’s mobility provision.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Has the county council learned its lesson?
Judging by the “ample space” for greenfield business park and housing development promoted in the “Clean Growth Vision for the West of East Devon” it commissioned from City Science Corporation (an Exeter City Futures sister company) for submission to the East Devon Local Plan consultation, it seems not.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Pennsylvania petitioners expose fifteen years of flawed student accommodation policy-making
City council policies based on faulty premises, inaccurate information and miscalculated projections have failed to prevent mass student occupation of Exeter residential housing stock despite the proliferation of Purpose Built Student Accommodation across the city.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Devolution doublespeak
Devon is apparently at the front of the pack for a Michael Gove-flavoured “double” devolution deal despite a competing bid led by Plymouth City Council (which wants to combine with the adjacent West Devon and South Hams district councils), next to no guidance on what is on offer from Whitehall, and even less public discussion about the prospect of local government changes across the county.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Democracy inaction
Meanwhile the poor record of the county council-led Devon Climate Emergency Response Group on keeping the public informed about what it is up to reached a new low this month, when it simultaneously published the minutes of ten meetings on the same day, some from as long ago as August.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Must try harder
The university recently let us know that its carbon emissions were down 19% during the 2020-21 academic year, although as the reductions came mostly from travel that didn’t take place because of the COVID-19 pandemic we look forward to seeing how it will frame what will presumably therefore be an emissions increase next year.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Keep it in the family
Earlier this year the University of Exeter drew attention to the South West’s significant social mobility issues, which it described as “blighting young lives”, when it launched a research project hoping to better understand the region’s challenges.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
County council doubles down on pension fund divestment position
Devon Pension Fund remains committed to fossil fuel investment despite increasingly untenable pension fund committee position that relies on unfounded shareholder influence claims and failure to understand sector position and plans.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter ranked bottom of Russell Group and 103rd overall in social mobility league table
Landmark study by Institute for Fiscal Studies, Sutton Trust and Department for Education finds University of Exeter undergraduates are less likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those that do are less likely to be high earners.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Money for nothing
The Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) closed its consultation on draft changes to the Prudential Code last month, following a preliminary consultation earlier this year. The code governs how much councils can borrow to invest and what forms of commercial activity they are permitted to pursue.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Exeter City Council approves second Harlequins 'co-living' block, sealing fate of Paul Street
Previously rejected vision will now form basis of 'abysmal' and 'poorly thought through' Liveable Exeter development of 383 'units of accommodation' with increased proportion of substandard studios but reduced economic value to city.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Public sector pay pals?
Instead of announcing the biggest council funding rise for over a decade, Exeter City Council’s press team marked budget day by celebrating Exeter’s latest quarterly YouGov popularity rating. The Paris Street PR machine forgot to mention that those surveyed need never have visited the city.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Greens call for evidence-based Exeter carbon budget as city council clings to net zero rhetoric
The Net Zero Exeter plan lacks baseline emissions figures, recognised scope definitions and measurement and reporting frameworks, placing the city's decarbonisation agenda at risk. The opportunity for Exeter to demonstrate genuine climate crisis leadership nevertheless remains.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Prospects improve for pop-up Paris Street and Sidwell Street tenants wanting to stay on development site
Council leader Phil Bialyk says it will be 'some years' before planned CityPoint redevelopment affects repurposed retail units, and that council 'would want' to accommodate artistic and cultural initiatives and independent local businesses 'should they wish to remain'.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ ARTS & CULTURE
May the force be with UNESCO
Torbay and Exeter’s joint UK city of culture bid, said to be inspired by the “closely connected coastal and city destinations” despite Brixham and Exeter being an hour and a half apart by public transport, didn’t make it onto the longlist of eight places which have caught the eye of culture vulture and escapee celebrity Nadine Dorries.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter City Council scraps own 'unachievable' carbon emissions target
In an extraordinary reversal, the city council removed the goal of achieving carbon neutral operations by 2022 from its corporate risk register at an Audit & Governance committee meeting last week.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
City council outsourcing Exeter local government to unaccountable Liveable Exeter Place Board
An Exeter Observer investigation of Liveable Exeter Place Board has found that it is a de facto decision-making and governance body which exercises public functions with the potential to affect everyone who lives and works in Exeter.
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter climate campaigners protest at £157 million Devon Pension Fund fossil fuel investment
Fridays for Future Exeter led a march through the city to County Hall where demonstrators called on Devon County Council to divest the local public sector pension scheme it manages from fossil fuels.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
South West Water misses pollution targets for tenth year running
Environment Agency says regional company's performance 'drags down the whole sector's reputation' as report places it at bottom of annual assessment league table while company pays out millions in shareholder dividends.
ANALYSIS ⁄ ARTS & CULTURE
Positive Light Projects opens community arts centre despite CityPoint redevelopment threat
Parts of Exeter city centre are experiencing an unplanned renaissance as small shops and cultural venues move in to fill empty units on Paris Street and Sidwell Street, but uncertainty remains as the council still plans to demolish and redevelop.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
River Exe green spaces and heritage harbour site threatened by 'Liveable Exeter' development scheme
Exeter Civic Society and Green, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors raise alarm at prospect of Exeter City Council development in river valley park and historic canal basin.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Environmental activist Imogen May defiant after second liability order for non-payment of council tax
Extinction Rebellion demonstrated at Exeter Law Courts in support of Crediton lone parent who has withheld council tax for two years in protest over government climate crisis inaction.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
University drops environmental standards for huge student flats development with council approval
University of Exeter and Exeter City Council both ignore own policies in plans to demolish 30 buildings and construct 50,000m2 of new student accommodation, telling us more about their priorities than their climate leadership claims.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Longbrook Street PBSA gifted second life
Exeter City Council planning officers have approved the renewal of planning permission for an eight storey 108-bed student accommodation block on the site of the King Billy public house which had previously been granted in April 2018 and since lapsed.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Devon Pension Fund fossil fuel investment position exposed by Shell and BP AGM votes
Shareholder support for Paris Agreement-compatible goals increases but fails to prevent continuing oil and gas exploration, extraction, production or consumption as experts intensify warnings that emissions reductions goals will be missed.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
South West Exeter district heating network plan abandoned
Property developers refuse to back scheme despite local authorities committing £7.3 million to project to supply 2500 new homes with waste heat from Marsh Barton incinerator, Exeter's largest single source of carbon emissions.
NOTES & SKETCHES ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Follow the money
Glenn Woodcock and Roli Martin of Global City Futures were invited to join the board which oversees the Devon Carbon Plan at its meeting last month and given the same decision-making powers as the rest of the board, which is almost exclusively composed of public sector organisations.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Is Exeter City Council going to abandon its Net Zero 2030 target?
Review suggests alignment with Devon Carbon Plan, currently aimed at 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050, citing 'technical and financial challenges ahead', although change in policy would require decision by councillors after 6 May local elections.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
2021 Exeter local elections guide
Elections for Exeter City Council, Devon County Council and the Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner are taking place in Exeter on 6 May. Our essential election guide highlights wards and divisions to watch, changes taking place and how, when and where to vote.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
World Meteorological Organization report confirms 'relentless' intensification of climate crisis despite pandemic lockdowns
2020 set to be equal warmest year on record despite cooling La Niña while Internal Energy Agency warns post-pandemic economic stimulus expected to drive second largest annual increase in carbon emissions in history and UK emissions set to overshoot 2030 target by 40%.
NEWS ⁄ ARTS & CULTURE
Council announces plan to produce 'Exeter the Musical' at city's Corn Exchange
Exeter City Council has announced a plan to produce a musical theatre extravaganza billed as 'an ambitious celebration of a better life in the world's most world-class city' as part of its UNESCO City of Literature celebrations.
COMMENT ⁄ ECONOMY & ENTERPRISE
Selective use of statistics presents an unbalanced account of Exeter's economic & environmental status
Exeter City Council's Chief Executive uses statistics to show the city in a good light, but in doing so presents a picture which omits important information about the city's true position.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Okehampton to Exeter 'Dartmoor Line' passenger rail service reinstatement confirmed
£40 million Department for Transport 'Restoring your Railway' funding to enable trains every two hours by end of this year, with plans to increase to hourly service during 2022. Stakeholders combine to get South West infrastructure needs onto Whitehall agenda.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
£37.5 million council maintenance backlog caused by underinvestment to be part-funded by asset sales
Exeter City Council has allowed property assets to deteriorate while prioritising new schemes including the £44 million St Sidwell's Point leisure centre, forcing it to identify assets for sale to pay its outstanding repair bills.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Council pushes back on Liveable Exeter Place Board scrutiny following membership change
Exeter City Council has responded to an enquiry about disproportionate Church of England representation on the Liveable Exeter Place Board by accusing Exeter Observer of promoting a 'partisan narrative' and claiming our public interest reporting 'bears no resemblance to fact'.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Report places Devon County Council among UK's top local authority fossil fuel investors
£157 million of Devon Local Government Pension Scheme is invested in companies including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, BHP, Anglo American and ExxonMobil despite local authority climate emergency declarations and carbon reduction commitments.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
May local elections to go ahead despite COVID-19 challenges
Ban on doorstep canvassing and door to door leaflet distribution likely to favour the two major parties on 6 May as postal and proxy voting encouraged in Exeter City Council, Devon County Council and Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
District heating network planned for new South West Exeter development
Local councils are investing up to £7.3 million in a £23 million project to supply a development of 2500 homes with heat which depends on the Marsh Barton waste incinerator, Exeter's largest single source of carbon emissions.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
First Liveable Exeter homes are substandard 'warehousing for people' which is student accommodation 'in all but name'
Harlequins shopping centre redevelopment approved by Exeter City Council includes 251 co-living units in seven storey tower block despite widespread opposition from conservation charities and community campaigners who have since appealed to the Secretary of State to call in the decision.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Council executive members take direct control of city planning decisions
Council's executive now possesses majority on city planning committee, with council leader and planning portfolio holder also included despite national guidance, offering basis to challenge decisions and increasing democratic deficit.
NEWS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Council abandons temporary COVID-19 cycling and walking safety plans in Exeter city centre
Devon County Council cites 'pushback' from traders as schemes on North Street, South Street, Fore Street and Cowick Street are scrapped. Meanwhile temporary changes in Topsham are dropped after 'snap poll'.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Unelected Liveable Exeter Place Board created to oversee city from the shadows
Exeter City Council has convened an unelected board that meets in private, does not publish its discussions or decisions and is taking responsibility for major policies which will determine Exeter's future.
ANALYSIS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Exeter rough sleepers in COVID-19 emergency accommodation face uncertain future
Exeter City Council has yet to confirm whether it will use any of the £2.15m Rough Sleeping Initiative funding it has received since 2018 to keep housing rough sleepers when government emergency accommodation funding runs out.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter City Council accepts climate emergency plan to make city carbon neutral by 2030
Chief Executive warns that resourcing the plan is 'problematic' given COVID-19 financial challenges and that lack of resources limits the council's capacity for immediate practical action.
ANALYSIS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Coronavirus exposes council failure to deliver Exeter transport plans
Devon County Council's failure to deliver overdue Exeter transport strategy and cycling and walking plan has led to an inadequate response to government demands for emergency coronavirus road layout changes.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Exeter's first 'zero carbon' housing development includes 96 car parking spaces for 40 homes
Exeter City Council has approved plans to develop land at Pinhoe with a parking ratio of 2.4 cars per household as part of an 'exemplar scheme for future residential development in the city' while accepting that zero carbon construction comes 'at a cost to the provision of affordable housing'.
NEWS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Cranbrook town centre community building application submitted
Devon County Council is to develop new town centre facilities including a children's centre with public health nursing provision, youth centre with indoor and outdoor recreational spaces and library with small café.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter City Council announces £1.584m April budget shortfall caused by COVID-19 restrictions
Council revenues have fallen dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, prompting a £6.357 million capital spending deferment. But financial support from government has so far been limited.
EXETER OBSERVER COMMUNITY
An open letter to all members of the Exeter Observer team
The situation is changing quickly. The electoral commission have proposed the cancellation of the May local elections, several universities are moving to online-only teaching and it seems likely that there will be a wave of event cancellation announcements early next week.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter strike ends third week with rally and concert at St David's Church
The Exeter branch of the University & College Union (UCU) is taking part in four weeks of national industrial action over pensions, equal pay for female and BAME staff, increasing workloads and the use of casual employment contracts.
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Is Exeter finally responding to the climate emergency?
A surge of activity about action to combat climate change is taking place in Exeter, including the publication of a carbon neutral blueprint pending a 'mobilisation summit', but detail and evidence is still missing and community engagement is falling short of debate.
NEWS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter climate strike anniversary march brings junction to standstill
Protestors form human chain around County Hall to highlight Devon County Council's role as key regional climate policy decision-maker after Exeter City Council confiscates banners promoting carbon neutral blueprint policies.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter PRISM network champions queer STEMM pioneers
Exeter students celebrated the lives of polar explorer and botanist Elke Mackenzie, inventor, engineer and futurist Nikola Tesla and astronaut and children's author Sally Ride in winning LGBT+ network competition entries.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter & East Devon council accounts delayed by Grant Thornton's 'lack of staff resources'
Annual accounts for local government, including Exeter City Council, have been delayed by private sector firms failing to complete their work on time after cost-cutting government auditing reforms.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
East Devon Independent Claire Wright set to unite Remain voters in close historic two-way contest
Claire Wright is poised to make history by beating the Tories in East Devon next week. If she does it will be without thanks to the LibDems and Greens, who insisted on standing candidates against her despite the preferences of local party members and the Unite to Remain campaign.
NEWS ⁄ COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
University of Exeter staff strike over pay, pensions and working conditions
The Exeter branch of the University & College Union (UCU) is taking part in a national eight day strike for fair pay and pensions, including equal pay for female and BAME staff, and against casualisation and increasing workloads.
ANALYSIS ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter youth climate strikers launch Green New Deal for Devon
Fridays For Future Exeter have published a detailed vision of a more equitable future that calls on elected representatives across the county to recognise the climate crisis as a symptom of a dysfunctional political economy.
COMMENT ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter could do better - was there no alternative to closing so many public toilets?
Exeter City Council did not need to close thirteen public toilets to balance the books. The money to keep them open was available in reserves, but no mention of this option was made during public decision-making by councillors or officers.
SPECIAL REPORTS ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
We already know what to do about the climate crisis. We must get on with doing it as fast as we can.
Exeter and Devon council leaders must begin rapid regional decarbonisation now. The quickest, cheapest way to cut emissions in Exeter is to deter combustion engines from entering the city. Clean air legislation offers a basis for action.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Caught short - balancing the books in a hurry
Exeter City Council has unapologetically confirmed its decision to close 13 public toilets as a money-saving measure with full knowledge of its expected effect on residents and visitors. Can we expect other spending cuts to be handled the same way?
COMMENT ⁄ CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT
Exeter Youth Strike 4 Climate - the floodgates are open
Exeter is one of the smallest cities in Britain, yet it has produced some of the country's biggest youth strikes. Climate activist Sam Sleeman recounts the story so far and explains what it means to the young people who are creating a global wave of change.
COMMENT ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Is EU membership essential to our ability to deal with the climate emergency?
Molly Scott Cato, Green Party MEP for the South West, visited Exeter during her re-election campaign to explain why the EU and its Green Group is leading the way on a wide range of progressive policies.
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Mount Radford Lawn development proposals conflict with St Leonards community vision
Exeter Deaf Academy hopes to sell a school playing field to developers who plan to build luxury homes. Local residents have other ideas about how best to use the land. A dispute is looming over an historic green space driven by prospective profit from planning gain.
NEWS ⁄ ARTS & CULTURE
Rainbow Trail LGBTQIA+ exhibition queers RAMM for Exeter Pride 2019
A new collaboration between X-Plore Youth Devon, Exeter College LGBTQ+ society, Natalie McGrath of Dreadnought SW and Dr Jana Funke of the University of Exeter explores gender and sexual diversity across time, place and culture by reimagining objects from the RAMM collections.
NEWS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Exeter Labour loses local elections in all three city centre wards
Voters in Exeter yesterday elected three new councillors to represent them in the key wards that cover the city centre, with all the city's ruling Exeter Labour group candidates missing out despite the party's confident campaign.
ANALYSIS ⁄ DEMOCRACY & GOVERNANCE
Local resident stands as independent candidate in Exeter elections
Jemima Moore is a 36 year-old part-time primary school teacher and mother of two young children with little political experience. So why has she decided to stand for election to Exeter City Council on 2 May?
ANALYSIS ⁄ PLANNING & PLACE
Clifton Hill sports centre – the background
Storm Emma met the Beast from the East and dumped a huge amount of snow on the roof of Exeter's Clifton Hill sports centre, setting off a chain reaction which has ignited two campaigns and put Exeter City Council's approaches to competence and openness into sharp focus.
COMMENT ⁄ TRANSPORT & MOBILITY
Streets are for people, not cars
Cars adversely affect economic output, air quality and wellbeing, take up valuable space when parked and discourage people from walking and cycling when driven. Reducing their use would enhance Exeter's retail and leisure offer, improve public health and attract needed workers to the city.